


Saving My Friend's Pirate...and His Brother

by AnnaAmell



Series: Saving Killian Jones and His Brother [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Canon Temporary Character Death, F/M, Friendship, Minor Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Underworld
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 06:25:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5616832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaAmell/pseuds/AnnaAmell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, I’m jumping on the #KeepLiamJones bandwagon.  This is the first part of a series.  It’s from Regina’s point of view.  She’s more…hero adjacent than anything else; but she has friends, and she wants to keep them…even if she’s not always sure how to deal with them. Also, she ships Captain Swan and has now been charmed by Liam Jones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saving My Friend's Pirate...and His Brother

Regina is new to the friend…thing. Once she masters it, she knows she’ll be as wonderful at it as she is at everything else; but in the meantime, there have been…missteps. She could never be sorry that Robin was still alive, but pressuring Emma to save him had definitely had…consequences. Controlling Emma with the dagger was, in retrospect, not her finest moment. She’d only intended to make the stubborn girl see, but…. Well, that less than shining moment was certainly trumped by her suggesting that they let Captain G…Hook…Killian die in Camelot. Maybe if she’d just stood with Emma then, she would have trusted her with…what came after.

And then there’s Killian. He’s annoying…and sarcastic…and a constant reminder that villains can change…and…gone. She wanted to stop him…to make him see that he was hurting Emma…to make him remember what kind of man he wanted to be. She should have thought farther ahead…realized that he would have to sacrifice himself…or that Emma would have to help him. The Evil Queen would have realized, but just Regina has gotten too used to the heroes pulling a last minute victory out of the jaws of defeat. She got complacent, but she’s going to make sure that doesn’t happen again. 

She backs Emma’s plan to rescue Killian from the Underworld. It…could…possibly work. But it was obvious that Emma would go it alone if she had to–just look how that worked out the last time–and Regina owed Emma. She owed her for not supporting her decision to save Killian in Camelot, for one, and she owed her for things that Emma both did and didn’t know about…a curse…a turnover…a crushed heart labeled a heart attack…. Well…that was all…in the past now, and she was determined to follow Killian’s example rather than Rumplestiltskin’s. Really, how long was Belle going to be deliberately blind to his nature? He is twisted even by Regina’s standards if he can stand before his True Love and lie to her about everything that matters. She won’t do that…she won’t become that. She just needs to get Emma’s pirate back to prove that this happy ending…thing can stick. If she and Killian can both pull it off, then it’s real and not just a fluke that will be torn away. It’s not like she misses him or anything.

The Underworld is every bit as unpleasant as she expected. Although, the bizarro-Storybrook was something of a surprise, and she got to see…her par…. Anyway…they’ve finally got Emma’s pirate, Emma managed to split her heart without dying…not that she was worried, and she and Killian have been even more nauseating than usual. She gets that they are happy, but watching them kiss forever..and refuse to look away from each other…and the way Emma keeps stroking his hook…and the way he keeps running his hand through her hair…well, it’s not good for David’s blood pressure. That’s why she interrupted them. It’s not like Regina needed to hug the pirate herself or anything…. 

In addition to Killian, it seems they have acquired another Jones. Just what this day needed: now there are two of them…. Well, she now knows where Killian learned how to be such a gentleman–at least, when it suits him. The elder Jones, Liam, keeps staring at his brother…like he’s trying to memorize everything…and he looks so sad…when his eyes catch on the hook… He’s taken to calling Emma, Little Sister, which has earned him watery smiles and a…couple..few…hugs from the blond in question. Killian, after he stopped crying and hugging his Swan…at least for a moment, introduced his brother to David with much pomp and circumstance, and he actually bowed to Regina and Snow. Killian is doing his fair share of staring at his brother as well and his has the most…wistful expression on his face…. For his part, Henry practically preened when he ruffled his hair…you’d think he’s never had an uncle before…of course a ship’s captain probably does beat a baby for scintillating conversation…but that just means it will hurt her son more when the have to leave Liam behind…and they do have to…. Well, if things work out differently than she expects, she can always backtrack a bit…. 

Finally, they’re on their way to the exit…they’re almost there in fact…when they are stopped by Hades himself. He says he’s impressed with Emma’s ingenuity, but he accuses her of trying to steal one of his souls. Apparently, the split heart plan will technically work…its enough to bring Killian back, but Hades demands that one of their group stay behind in payment. Snow and Henry immediately start shouting. Regina watches Killian’s shoulders slump as he shakes his head…she watches Emma…whimper…and clutch at his arms…she watches as David of all people turns from his daughter to Rumplestiltskin with a speculative look…. Well, best to nip that idiocy in the bud. David knows what dear old Rumple is capable of, but maybe she’s not the only one who’s gotten complacent. Trying to trade the Dark One for Killian Jones would result in a dead body all right, but Regina doesn’t intend to watch Emma regain her pirate only to lose her father. It’s time for the Queen to step up. She tells Hades that they agree to his terms…that’s got their attention…stop shaking your head Killian. Seriously, Snow, don’t be so obvious that you’re preparing to aim an arrow at Rumple; and David, that hand on your sword isn’t exactly subtle…although it’s better than Emma’s glowing hands…still, the unexpected support is…nice. At least Robin has the sense to move Henry a bit out of the way…that’s how you do subtle, Charming family idiots. 

With a flourish, she pulls out the box that Rumple used to hold Pan…and opens it…to reveal a rather bedraggled looking Arthur, former fraud-king of Camelot. The symmetry appeals to her. They wouldn’t even be in this forsaken place if he hadn’t been incompetently evil, tied them up and cut Killian with Excalibur; and leaving him here should free Guinevere from the spell he cast with the Dust of Avalon. Regina knows it won’t make up for what she did to G…but at least the woman will have a chance to find her own happy ending. Arthur opens his mouth…now, no one wants to hear that…and it’s child’s play to silence him. Now, they’re all staring at her…again…Snow’s nodding, and Emma’s turning to Killian with a look of such painful hope that…yes, he’s going to cave. David looks like he’d like to start smiling, but it’s probably against some princely heroes’ code to smile at an execution. Rumple’s wandered off after giving them all one last glare of death. Regina’s…a tiny bit…concerned about Henry’s reaction, but he’s hugging Killian…so, that’s ok. Robin is…just giving her that…look…the one that seems to show how much he…. And now it’s time to corral this group…her friends and her love–Rumple can take care of himself…or not, as far as she’s concerned–and get them all home. She has a happy ending to get started on…and friends to share it with…if they’ll just stop kissing long enough to get there…. 

Of course it’s not that simple. Rumple wasn’t just stalking off in a snit from being almost traded for his mortal enemy…that would be too easy….that would be too…sane. Instead, he went looking for friends of his own and came back with…Nimue and her company of Dark Ones…. Of course, they want to try to trade places with the living souls in their midst. Of course, Rumple doesn’t want Belle to know that he’s still his bad old self… Really?…and there goes David…again. Trying to physically throttle the Dark One…the one they came with…might help you relieve those guilt issues, David, but it’s not exactly practical…or safe…to strangle an invincible and very magically powerful man. She manages to grab him just before he reaches his target, and she can perhaps be forgiven for elbowing Rumple a…few times as she struggles with the erstwhile prince. Thankfully Snow finally gets over her shock in time to help pull him back…although she’s looking like she wishes she’d thought of it first…priorities, people, please.

David-wrangling accomplished, Regina turns to check on Henry and the others. Robin has his bow up and ready to provide cover if she and the Charmings need it and Emma stands in front of Henry and Killian…literally and absolutely glowing with anger and magic…and a healthy dose of fear. Killian stands slightly behind her and to the side, with his face pale, his jaw clenched, his hook raised…and shaking slightly, and…his other arm firmly around Henry to keep him squarely behind the incandescent Emma. He notices Regina looking and in his gaze she sees…desperation and…No, just no… She came to the Underworld to save Emma’s pirate, not to leave him and certainly not to join him…and here comes Liam…apparently stupidly heroic acts run in more than just the Charming family. Following the troupe…bevy…group of Dark Ones just…in case they’re heading towards his little…sorry, younger…brother…and now he’s…taken up position on…Henry’s other side, sword in hand. Well, that settles that…

With a flourish…again…anything worth doing is worth doing fabulously, ok…Regina pulls out the Dagger bearing the name of Rumplestiltskin. Does she know how to get everyone’s attention or what? The dropped jaws from team Charming-Jones-Hood are just as entertaining as the gob-smacked look of fury on Rumple’s face. She has always liked symmetry after all, and this is as symmetrical as it gets. She remembers that alternate reality Rumple had them all written into..the one where he intended her to lose her happy ending forever…to die…where Emma was locked in a tower for decades…where Henry was never born…where she and….Killian did die. She remembers it well, and it’s…possible that Bandit Regina was…amongst other things…an expert pickpocket. You’d think after hundreds of years as the Dark One, you’d learn to keep a tight hold on your dagger, Dearie. She may be a…better…version of herself, but she is going to enjoy this. She orders him to send his little friends away, and…then she turns to Hades, who has been watching…with a speculative look on his face.   
Lesser mortals might quell before that look…so it’s good that Regina is not one of them…the Queen can handle this…she can…. She proposes another trade…the current Dark One for…Liam Jones…and open mouthed expressions of shock are apparently genetic–who knew? Close you mouths, boys, or you’ll catch undead flies. Hades agrees…with a disturbingly amused smirk…and in a poof, he and Rumple…and the dagger…are gone. Yes, that’s going to come back to bite her later…she’s aware….

Emma’s incandescent again…this time her smile…with joy…as she and Henry pull the newest member of the family into a spinning hug. Killian’s suddenly in front of Regina and dips her into a hug of her own…silly, over-emotional pirate…she must have gotten some dust in her eye…she’s not crying…stop looking at her and go hug your Swan and your brother…idiot…. Robin, of course, can look all he likes…and he has that smile again…. Now, it is past time to leave. She just needs to get them all out of here before anyone else tries to kill them, and then they can get started on those happy endings… The only conflict she wants to deal with now is convincing Robin that naming Baby Hood after anyone’s dead ex-significant other or sibling or parent is a bad idea, and the next quest Emma asks her on had better be a shopping trip to furnish rooms for Henry and Liam in that big, empty house Killian and Henry found. She swears that anything that tries to bring unhappy chaos into her life…or the lives of her friends…or take away anyone she…cares about…for at least the next month…can eat a fireball.


End file.
